Title: Genetic Side Effects
Author: Lt.Kara.Thrace
Rating: K
Pairing: established J/C
Genre: Drama/Romance
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Archive: Sure, just let me know first.
Summary: Are the Corains all that they seem to be or is there something more sinister at work? A bizarre affliction causes members of Voyager's crew to reverse age, what is the cause and what does it have to do with their visit to Corai? Established J/C.
Author's Note: I apologize for any errors I have and/or will make when discussing the technology of Star Trek; it is not my specialty nor is it the focus of this story. Chapters will be individually rated. Also terribly sorry for the delay between this chapter and the last but I take my studies at school seriously and hasn't been allowing me to add a new chapter for unknown reasons. There should be at least one more chapter up this week.
Chapter 2
The away team materialized in an empty clearing. The team consisted of Kathryn, Chakotay, B'lenna and a soon to be unlucky security officer assigned by Tuvok. As requested none carried weapons. All that they had brought with them was a couple of tricorders and their com-badges. Neither could be mistaken for weapons.
At first glance the clearing was deserted and for a moment Kathryn thought that perhaps they had beamed down to the wrong coordinates. A slight hissing sound marked the uncloaking of a small shuttlecraft hidden nearby. The door opened and general Jarick emerged, "There has been a change of plans. The council cannot leave the capitol at this time. I am to bring you to them. I tried to contact your ship when I found out but you had already beamed down. Please hurry I will explain in more detail on the way." He ducked back inside.
Kathryn nodded and the away team boarded the shuttle. The interior was roomier than it had appeared on the outside. There were 8 seats including the pilot and copilot's seats. Jarick was in the pilot's seat and the latter was empty.
Once they were all strapped in securely and the shuttle had lifted off Kathryn wanted answers, "Why can't the council leave the capitol?"
"I'm afraid it's much more serious than that. They cannot leave the parliament building. There have been threats against their lives and we have had no luck catching the culprits. The building is under lockdown, only officials with the highest clearance are allowed out and only when absolutely necessary."
Chakotay spoke, "You believe that these threats are legitimate then?"
"I'm afraid so. The threat arrived in the form of a note and was signed as being from the terrorist group known as the Black Hand."
"Couldn't someone outside of the terrorist faction have sent the threat?" asked the nameless security officer hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, their existence is not yet known to the public."
"How is that possible?" Kathryn wondered aloud, interrupting him.
"So far their actions have been limited to two explosions and we were able to pass those off as accidents. The council intends to reveal their existence at a later date but right now they feel that the population needs stability and to make the announcement now may incite panic," he sighed and tapped the auto pilot button on the console and spun his chair around to face his passengers, "Only two years ago the great war between our planet and one in a neighbouring system ended. The war was a source of great destruction and death among our people despite our victory against the conquerors. The council doesn't think that they are ready for something of this magnitude."
"I take it you disagree."
"Yes, I believe that keeping this from the public is wrong however I am not on the council. I suppose they believe that they are doing the right thing. The question of whether they believe that what they are doing is in the best interests of the people there is no doubt. They are doing what they think is right."
'So you believe that what they are doing is wrong but are unwilling to outwardly express your opinion.' Kathryn thought to herself as she shifted in her seat to get a better view through the window. The shuttle was passing over farmland and forests, "How far is the capitol?" she asked curiously, not seeing any sign of a city.
"At present speed we will arrive in one hour. I am sorry for the inconvenience but transporter activity has been suspended for the time being due to present circumstances and a shield has been erected around the entire city. There is only one way in and one way out. We will have to land and enter the city on foot. There will be a transport waiting for us," he paused, "these circumstances are also the reason that I am piloting this shuttle myself without a copilot, we don't want anything to go wrong."
"I'm not sure whether that is reassuring or not."
He smiled but it quickly turned to a frown as the console behind his beeped urgently. He spun around to see what was wrong as the shuttle was struck by weapons fire, "Damn," he swore under his breath, "I hope you all are strapped in, this is going to get rough."
"What's happening?"
"We're under attack, I'm going to try and lose them, hold on," he switched the controls back to manual and began a dizzying pattern of evasive maneuvers. The shuttle was struck twice more.
"Auxiliary power, and navigation are offline."Knowing that it was their only chance he turned the shuttle 180 degrees and flew straight towards their assailants at full speed while firing the forward phasers and maintaining the evasive maneuvers. The ship was struck once again; the console in front of Jarick spat sparks everywhere.
"Structural integrity is down to 20, shields are inoperative."
The ship behind them was now visible through the windows; it was a sleek, black cruiser, definitely built for speed and maneuverability. It most likely had weak armour to reduce weight and increase speed. A direct hit sent it belching black smoke, careening into the forest below and it exploded on impact.
"We have to land," he announced, "the extent of the damage is too great to be able to make it to the capitol now. I should be able to make sufficient repairs to get us to the city," he struggled with the controls as the shuttle bounced a couple of times and landed in the middle of a meadow not too far away from where the cruiser went down.
Shaken the occupants of the shuttle emerged to assess the damage and survey the area. The security officer who was feeling less optimistic and lucky by the minute was left outside to keep watch. The rest of them returned to the inside.
"I could contact my ship and…" Kathryn pressed her com-badge and nothing happened, then both Chakotay and B'lenna tried, neither was successful.
B'lenna examined the communication devices, "They should work, there's nothing wrong with them."
"There must be a jamming device active aboard the cruiser I shot down. Computer damage report."
"Auxiliary power, communications, shields, navigation, internal sensors and external sensors are offline, structural integrity is at 20, and phasers are at 60."
"Right, judging from the damage we can repair navigation, shields and external sensors. Structural integrity is a problem, if we're attacked again…" he trailed off allowing the others to imagine the scenario for themselves. The shuttle would most likely either explode or crash and explode killing all aboard in both cases, "External sensors are a priority, I'd like to know if someone is coming before they get here."
"These systems look similar to Federation technology, I may be able to help."
Kathryn looked at Jarick who nodded, "Alright do what you can B'lenna, are there any weapons on board?"
"No, the council specifically forbid me from storing any weapons on board, all we have are the tools and this knife," he revealed a knife strapped to his calf.
"How long do you think the repairs will take?"
"If we only repair navigation, shields and external sensors we're looking at least a day."
"What about the possibility of rescue?"
"Not good. Even if we repaired the communication systems our frequency is being jammed. We can't contact anyone and it would probably take us longer to find and disable the device than it would take to repair the shuttle. Since only the council knows what our flight plan was and the jamming device is jamming our homing beacon as well there will be no rescue attempt. We have probably been designated missing if not dead. We're going to have to make it back on our own."
"We should probably get to work then."
An hour later repairs were going fairly well when there was a commotion outside. What appeared to be a sole survivor from the cruiser was approaching and seemed to be having a rather loud argument with the security officer standing watch.
The man approaching was limping badly and had a nasty head wound. Jarick watched with a blank expression as the man staggered and fell, he gestured to the shuttle behind him, "Someone get the medical supplies." The security officer rushed to comply. Jarick strode forwards and stopped just short of where the man lay on the ground trying to get up, "Who are you?" he demanded, "are there other survivors?"
"Derak, th…ere…were…no…oth…ers," he stammered as death took him.
He called back to the security officer who was emerging from the shuttle with Kathryn and the medical supplies, "Don't bother, he's dead. He managed to tell me that there were no other survivors before he died," he began to walk back towards the shuttle, "Maybe we have a chance at disabling that jamming device now, if there are no survivors that may be waiting for us to show up or heading this way we might just have a chance."
"Sounds like a good idea. How are we going to decide who goes?"
"I should go, I know the technology and stand the best chance of disabling it. I also know the terrain well from survival training. It is a required course every five years."
"Alright, B'lenna and I will continue to try and fix the shuttle," she turned and called to Chakotay inside the shuttle, "commander, go with general Jarick and help him find and disable the jammer, good luck."
TBC
Author's Note 2: I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my story and doubly thank those who post reviews. I want to know what you think about my story. Please review and help me make it better.
ascii27: Thanks for reviewing, don't worry there's lots more to come. I wouldn't dream of abandoning this story. Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.